


i am caught off-guard by you, like a wave i'm pulled into

by boston_sized_city



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast), The College Tapes (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff, I guess???, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29575746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boston_sized_city/pseuds/boston_sized_city
Summary: adam makes a plan. it goes... well.
Relationships: Adam Hayes/Frankie Meeks
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7
Collections: Happy Birthday Marcus





	i am caught off-guard by you, like a wave i'm pulled into

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thefigureinthecorner](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefigureinthecorner/gifts).



> happy birthday marcus!
> 
> (ft. a kind of au with podcaster adam and special guest fish)
> 
> title from storm by ruelle

Adam stretches out on the couch, looking over at his boyfriend. Nervous butterflies stir in his stomach. He swallows them down. "What if you did the episode with me?" he asks, keeping his voice casual.

Frankie looks up from petting Fish, their kitten, on the other side of the couch. "I'm not, like, actually the mothman, babe."

"I'm just saying, I've never seen you and the mothman in the same room, and you _are_ from West Virginia, and you _have_ the ass for it." 

He ducks as Frankie picks up a throw pillow and tosses it at him. _"What?"_ He laughs, the nerves starting to disappear, barely managing to get the word out. "I'm serious!"

He chucks the pillow back at Frankie, who catches it. Fish darts off the couch. "I love you." Adam's heart stutters. _Traitor_. "I'm not going to tell people I'm the mothman on your podcast."

"But it would be _so cool_ to tell people I'm dating the mothman!" Adam insists.

Frankie stretches to kick his ankle. "I'm way cooler. The mothman can't shoot lightning out of his hands."

"How would you know?" Adam teases, kicking him back and sticking out his tongue.

"You can't say I'm the mothman and then ask how I know stuff about the mothman."

_Aha_. Adam flashes a triumphant grin, knowing that he’s won. "So you admit it!"

It takes a second for Frankie to figure it out, and then he groans, an affectionate smile on his face. "You're the worst and I hate you," he says, rather fondly, sitting up and sliding closer to Adam.

"Love you, too." He threads his fingers through Frankie's hair, starting to brush through it. He tries his best to sound nonchalant. "I still think it would be fun. To like, co-host for an episode."

Frankie drops his head onto his shoulder, sighing. "You're going to introduce me as the mothman, aren't you?"

Adam smiles down at him, relaxing completely. "Yep," he agrees.

Frankie laughs. "You're _so_ lucky I want to be the mothman," he says, lifting his head to kiss him. Adam laughs into it, unable to stop himself from smiling.

* * *

"This place is _fancy."_ Frankie whistles as Adam pushes the studio door open.

"You live here. You've _been_ in my studio before." Adam looks at Frankie, and sees him grinning. He tries not to let his eyes linger on his smile for too long. "You come in here every time I try to record an episode."

Frankie walks past him into the room, dropping himself onto one of the cushioned office chairs. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he says, spinning in his chair.

The door creaks again as Fish walks into the room, wanting to see where her dads went without her. She meows up at Frankie, rubbing her head against one of the chair's wheels, and he lifts her up and sets her on his lap, scratching behind her ears as she purrs loudly. 

Adam kicks the door shut with his heel. "So I'm co-hosting with my boyfriend _and_ my cat today," he says cheerfully, sitting down in his own chair.

"I think this is your cutest episode yet." Frankie lifts Fish up to kiss her head before letting her curl back up on his lap.

Adam is inclined to agree, but of course he doesn't say that. He turns on his computer. "I'm gonna introduce you, and you can do most of the talking. You know a lot more than I do."

"You want me to take over your podcast?" Frankie asks. 

"Don't get a big head, I forgot to do any research and want to cover my ass." Adam gives him a cheeky grin.

"I think you just like hearing me talk," Frankie says, humming.

Truthfully, _yeah._ But rather than admitting it, he grabs his headphones, passing an extra pair to Frankie. "I think my listeners will like hearing you talk," he says, and turns to set everything up.

"Aaand recording." He fixes the microphone so it's right between them. He does his usual intro, adding, "This episode is going to be co-hosted by my boyfriend and resident mothman expert, Frankie, and our cat, Fish."

Fish looks up at her name and meows loudly. Frankie giggles, snorting. _Fuck_ , Adam thinks.

"What am I supposed to say?" Frankie whispers– or tries to, but he's giggling too much.

"Say _hi."_ Adam is grateful he knows he isn't going to end up using this take, anyway. He can hear the smile in his own voice.

_"Hi,"_ Frankie says, mimicking him. He pauses to think. "Do I just, like, talk?" he asks after a minute, lowering his voice.

Adam stops himself from saying please. "Yeah. You've listened to this before, you know how it goes. Just start talking, and I'll jump in with stuff." He likely won't.

He's too proud of himself for his plan. He hadn't had a guarantee that Frankie would say yes to the episode, obviously, but the recording wasn't _exactly_ vital. He could have just convinced him to start talking, and let him go on one of his endless rambles, distracting him enough. The recording is just for him, and for Frankie. To listen back on what will hopefully be one of their happiest moments.

And then, he looks back at Frankie, who looks– _really_ excited. Which makes Adam feel slightly bad about lying. Slightly. He still thinks it's worth it. It _is_ worth it. It will be.

_Hopefully._

As Frankie keeps talking, Adam doesn't think he could jump in even if he wanted. Which, really, he doesn't mind. He listens intently, resting his head on his hand as he watches Frankie animatedly talk into the mic. The plan he had blurs a little in his mind, and he knows he's getting distracted. He knows his plan requires him not getting distracted, and he should be starting to put it in place around now.

In his defense— and it's a weak defense, he _knows_ — when he planned it out, he hadn't accounted for how distracting Frankie would be. He laughs a little when he speaks, a _fucking perfect_ laugh, and gestures wildly to no one, like he's miming out what he's saying.

Fish jumps up onto the desk and curls up behind the monitor. Adam lets her be, not wanting to move. He keeps watching and listening, almost tuning out completely as his thoughts get louder. They're incoherent, mostly variations of _fuck, I love him_.

After what feels like several hours, but is really probably ten minutes, Frankie stops talking, and looks over at him, his smile falling. "Adam? Are you okay?"

He blinks, and realizes he's been crying. _Fuck_ , he hates that he always cries when he's nervous— scared is probably a better word now, but fuck if he'll admit he's terrified— and usually he's better at hiding it, if he notices. He tries to speak, but nothing comes out. He pulls off his headphones and wipes his eyes with the back of his wrist. It doesn't help.

"Baby? What's wrong? I can– I can stop the recording." Frankie sounds worried when he doesn't answer. He takes off his own headphones and reaches for the computer. 

"Wait, don't, it– it's fine." Adam manages to pull himself together enough to remember why he wanted this to be recorded in the first place.

Frankie's hand hovers by the monitor, and then he sits back down, fidgeting. "Did I say something?" he asks, concern in his voice.

"You didn't, really, I'm okay." He swallows. "I need to– um." Now or never, he figures. "I need to ask you something."

Now Frankie looks nervous. "You're not, like. This isn't you breaking up with me. Is it?" His voice wavers.

"No!" Adam says quickly. His chest tightens. "No, I'm not– No." He sees Frankie relax. He stands up and reaches behind the monitor, scratching Fish's ears with one hand and fumbling through his pile of mess with the other. He finally grabs what he's looking for. The small box feels heavy in his hand, and for a second he freezes. _Is he really going to do this?_ The one brain cell he has left answers, yes, obviously, he's been wanting to do this for months.

He turns back to look at Frankie, his hand behind his back. And everything he wanted to say, everything he'd written down and rehearsed for weeks, flies out the window. He freezes.

"Babe—?" Frankie looks worried again. He stands up.

"I wanted to ask you to marry me," Adam blurts. The tears are back, and his vision blurs. Frankie goes still in front of him. "I had this– this whole _thing_ planned out, and– and I was going to– to ask at the end, and I knew what I was going to say and everything and it was going to be _perfect_ , and now it's ruined."

Frankie is silent for a minute, and Adam's heart stops. _Shit, he ruined it, he ruined everything_. Then Frankie starts to tear up. "You were going to propose?"

"Yeah." Adam fidgets with the box he'd grabbed, holding it in front of him and looking down at it. "I– I've been planning it for months. I wanted it to be special." He wipes his eyes.

He hears Frankie laugh, nervous and half-crying, and looks up. Frankie reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box nearly identical to Adam's. "I was going to give it to you before we finished recording," he says, looking somewhat sheepish.

Adam nearly chokes. "You– You were going to…"

"Yeah." Frankie anxiously toys with the box. "I've been trying to figure out how to do it, and then you said I should do an episode with you, and I thought it would be perfect." He pauses, thinking. Then the nervousness is back. "Can I– You didn't– I still want to ask you."

"I thought I ruined the mood," Adam says, unsure if he feels relieved or not. He feels overwhelmingly happy, too, but the anxiety hasn't died down yet. 

"Well, I mean, it's not really ideal, like, we're both already crying, and I know what you're going to say, so it's not, like, exactly what I had in mind, and I'm not assuming you'll say yes or anything, I just thought that since—"

Adam pulls him down into a kiss, wrapping his arms around his neck. He draws back, and Frankie looks dazed. "What was that for?"

"Mostly to get you to stop talking," Adam admits, smiling a little. He lets go and steps back.

Frankie goes faintly red. "Oh." He lets out another small, nervous laugh. "I'm gonna– I'm gonna ask now."

He swallows. Adam's heart is pounding in his chest as he watches him, waiting. "Can you, like, pretend this is a surprise?" 

"You're stalling," Adam says, cracking a grin, trying to ignore how much of a mess he is. 

"I will return the ring," Frankie threatens with the hint of a smile. He takes a breath, and reaches up to wipe his eyes. "I– I was scared that whatever I said wouldn't be enough. For me, I mean, I know you're going to interrupt me and say that whatever I say would always be enough, because you're sappy." Adam wants to protest. He doesn't. "But I wasn't– I wasn't sure that I would be able to tell you exactly how I feel, because I feel a lot, and putting it into words is hard. I've never– You're my first real boyfriend. I mean, you're my first real _anything_. And now it's been five years and I still don't know what I'm doing or how the fuck I got here."

He pauses as Fish walks out from behind the monitor, rubbing her head against the mic. She meows loudly, and Frankie frowns. "You're ruining my proposal," he complains. 

Adam laughs. Any tension that he'd been feeling washes away, and he's all happy. He picks up the kitten and hugs her against his chest, scratching her head. She purrs, pushing her head up into his hand. "Keep going, babe."

Frankie looks down at the box in his hands. Adam sees that they're shaking. "She messed me up," he says, and exhales, taking a second to pull himself together. "I, um. Fuck, okay, I love you. And I want to spend the rest of our lives together." He opens the box, and Adam's eyes are drawn to the ring inside. It's a simple band, silver with diamond studs. He looks back up, and Frankie is smiling. "So. Adam. Will you marry me?"

Adam lets Fish down onto the desk, and he's crying again. He barely manages to push out a trembling "Yeah."

It takes a second for Frankie to react. His smile brightens, and he gives Adam the ring, holding onto his hand for a second longer than he has to. "I get to call you my fiance now," he says happily, a soft giggle in his voice.

"I think I win," Adam says, smiling, unbelievably happy as he gives him his own ring– a slightly more elaborate amethyst one that he'd bullied Oliver into making for him. He hooks his arms around Frankie's neck to kiss him again, closing his eyes and smiling too much.

He feels something bump against his side, and then hears a loud meow. He pulls back and looks at Fish, who's headbutting him. She meows again, and he groans. Frankie laughs. "I'll feed her," he says, stepping back and opening the door. Fish jumps off the desk to follow him out of the studio.

Adam watches the door after they're both gone, a dopey smile still left on his face. He has no idea how he got this fucking lucky, but he doesn't think he'll start complaining anytime soon. 


End file.
